James Nicoll Reviews

The Wisdom of Crowds by Joe Abercrombie

Some say that to change the world you must first burn it down. Now that belief will be tested in the crucible of revolution: the Breakers and Burners have seized the levers of power, the smoke of riots has replaced the smog of industry, and all must submit to the wisdom of crowds.

With nothing left to lose, Citizen Brock is determined to become a new hero for the new age, while Citizeness Savine must turn her talents from profit to survival before she can claw her way to redemption. Orso will find that when the world is turned upside down, no one is lower than a monarch. And in the bloody North, Rikke and her fragile Protectorate are running out of allies … while Black Calder gathers his forces and plots his vengeance.

The banks have fallen, the sun of the Union has been torn down, and in the darkness behind the scenes, the threads of the Weaver’s ruthless plan are slowly being drawn together …

The Bone Ship’s Wake by RJ Barker

Discover a brilliantly imagined epic fantasy of honor, glory, and warfare in this action-packed conclusion to the David Gemmell Award-nominated trilogy. Joron Twiner’s dreams of freedom lay shattered. His Shipwife is gone and all he has left is revenge. Leading the black fleet from the deck of Tide Child, he takes every opportunity to hurt the Hundred Isles he is given. But his time is limited. His fleet is shrinking, the Keyshan’s Rot is running through his body, and he hiding from a prophecy that says he and the avian sorcerer, the Windseer will end the entire world. But the Sea Dragons have returned, a miracle in itself, and who is to say that if you can have one miracle, there cannot be another?

Out of This World: Speculative Fiction in Translation From the Cold War to the New Millennium by Rachel S. Cordasco

The twenty-first century has witnessed an explosion of speculative fiction in translation (SFT). Rachel Cordasco examines speculative fiction published in English translation since 1960, ranging from Soviet-era fiction to the Arabic-language dystopias that emerged following the Iraq War. Individual chapters on SFT from Korean, Czech, Finnish, and eleven other source languages feature an introduction by an expert in the language’s speculative fiction tradition and its present-day output. Cordasco then breaks down each chapter by subgenre – including science fiction, fantasy, and horror – to guide readers toward the kinds of works that most interest them. Her discussion of available SFT stands alongside an analysis of how various subgenres emerged and developed in a given language. She also examines the reasons a given subgenre has been translated into English. An informative and one-of-a-kind guide, Out of This World offers readers and scholars alike a tour of speculative fiction’s new globalized era. 

Sistersong by Lucy Holland

Betrayal. Magic. Murder. A tale of three siblings and three deadly sins.In a magical ancient Britain, bards sing a story of treachery, love and death. This is that story.For fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Lucy Holland’s Sistersong retells the folk ballad ​‘The Twa Sisters.‘King Cador’s children inherit a land abandoned by the Romans, torn by warring tribes. Riva can cure others, but can’t heal her own scars. Keyne battles to be seen as the king’s son, although born a daughter. And Sinne dreams of love, longing for adventure. All three fear a life of confinement within the walls of the hold, their people’s last bastion of strength against the invading Saxons. However, change comes on the day ash falls from the sky – bringing Myrdhin, meddler and magician. The siblings discover the power that lies within them and the land. But fate also brings Tristan, a warrior whose secrets will tear them apart. Riva, Keyne and Sinne become entangled in a web of treachery and heartbreak, and must fight to forge their own paths. It’s a story that will shape the destiny of Britain.’[A] gory, gripping and magically mythic tale of love and hatred, loyalty and betrayal’ – Daily MailSistersong is a powerfully moving story, perfect for readers who loved Naomi Novik’s Uprooted and Katherine Arden’s The Bear and the Nightingale. 

Our Traveling Home by Ash Kreider

Our Traveling Home is a Ghibli-inspired fantasy tabletop RPG about queer romance, found family, and finding healing through belonging.

The Quantum War by Derek Künsken

The eagerly awaited third volume in the number one bestselling Quantum Evolution series. An all-new, ground-breaking, action-packed new science fiction adventure set in the universe of The Quantum Magician and The Quantum Garden. The Union-Congregate war rages onward and the Union’s premier fighter pilots, the Homo Eridanus, start encountering deadly resistance from strange pilots on the Congregate side. Among wreckage, they find that new Congregate pilots aren’t human, but Homo quantus, with strange wiring and AI connections. At the same time, the Puppets come to the Union with offers of an alliance for a dangerous price: the rescue of the geneticist Antonio Del Casal who is a captive at Venus, with over a hundred Homo quantus. The only one who might be able to break through the Congregate defences at Venus is a con man who has given up his profession. 

The Seven Visitations of Sydney Burgess by Andy Marino

rom an electrifying voice in horror comes the haunting tale of a woman whose life begins to unravel after a home invasion. ​“Marino offers horrors both existential and visceral. From a stunning opening, the sense of dread just builds and builds.” –M. R. Carey, author of The Girl with All the Gifts“Odd and dark and fascinating … Not quite like anything I’ve ever read before. A strange, compelling, late-night page-turner. It kept me reading way past my bedtime.” –T. Kingfisher, author of The Hollow Places Possession is an addiction.Sydney’s spent years burying her past and building a better life for herself and her young son. A respectable marketing job, a house with reclaimed and sustainable furniture, and a boyfriend who loves her son and accepts her, flaws and all.But when she opens her front door, and a masked intruder knocks her briefly unconscious, everything begins to unravel.She wakes in the hospital and tells a harrowing story of escape. Of dashing out a broken window. Of running into her neighbors’ yard and calling the police.The cops tell her a different story. Because the intruder is now lying dead in her guest room – murdered in a way that looks intimately personal.Sydney can’t remember killing the man. No one believes her.Back home, as horrific memories surface, an unnatural darkness begins whispering in her ear. Urging her back to old addictions and a past she’s buried to build a better life for herself and her son.As Sydney searches for truth among the wreckage of a past that won’t stay buried for long, the unquiet darkness begins to grow. To change into something unimaginable.To reveal terrible cravings of its own. 

Mao, Vol. 1 by Rumiko Takahashi

Exorcise your destiny in an era-spanning supernatural adventure from manga legend Rumiko Takahashi!When Nanoka travels back in time to a supernatural early 20^th century, she gets recruited by aloof exorcist Mao. What is the thread of fate that connects them? Together, they seek answers…and kick some demon butt along the way!Nanoka passes through a portal into the Taisho era, where exorcist Mao reluctantly rescues her from the jaws of a grotesque yokai. When Nanoka gets back to the present, she discovers she has some new, incredible abilities. She returns to the past looking for answers, only to get caught up in Mao’s investigation of a series of gruesome murders. As her questions about herself multiply, Nanoka learns that Mao is cursed by a cat demon named Byoki — and so is his sword. If anyone but Mao attempts to wield it, they are doomed. But when Mao’s life is in jeopardy, Nanoka picks up his blade and swings! 

Meikyuu: Labyrinth Kingdom, a Tactical Fantasy World Survival Guide, Vol. 1 by Iori Miyazawa & Toichiro Kawashima

After being transported to another world, one man’s mission is to rebuild a kingdom. He has a very particular set of skills and he’s ready to face any obstacle because…who dares, wins! Monster, dungeon, and war stand no chance against the special forces! 

I’m the Villainess, So I’m Taming the Final Boss, Vol. 1 by Sarasa Nagase & Mai Murasaki

What’s the best thing to do when the shock of a broken engagement revives memories of a past life? Break all the rules, obviously! That’s exactly how a villainous young lady should act and there’s no better way to do that except claiming the demon king as her own…